Apple out, AIG in as hedge fund fave: Goldman

Well, it could be, in a stock performance perspective anyway, when looking at the latest hedge fund trends presented by Goldman Sachs. It’s not like the Apple
darling is falling completely out of favor, but the coveted stock has shaved off 15% so far this year and has — for the first time in three years — been defeated as the top hedge-fund position.

Reuters

On the Goldman Sachs hedge fund VIP list (and here we’re talking Very Important Positions of course, not any of that glamorous people hunting) the iPhone and iPad maker now finds itself beaten by insurance giant American International Group Inc.
with 117 funds holding the stock and 80 funds holding it as top 10 choice.

Also, Google Inc.
inched above Apple that now finds itself stuck in third place. A total of 67 funds in the Goldman survey were holding Apple stocks as a top 10 position in the fourth quarter, down from 109 in the past quarter.

“The stock fell 20% in 4Q and funds reduced positions by over 30%,” the Goldman Sachs analysts said. “Conversely, funds raised long allocations to financials by 200 basis points in 4Q, focusing especially on subsectors with exposure to the strengthening housing market.”

Goldman Sachs’ VIP list consists of 50 stocks, defined by positions that appear the most among the top 10 holdings within hedge fund portfolios. In the top 10, Apple is joined by other corporate majors such as Citigroup Inc.
, Nexen Inc.
, Microsoft Corp.
and General Motors Co.
.

Gold also faced the writing on the wall with funds reducing positions in the long-term favorite.

On a broader trend for hedge funds, Goldman Sachs found that most funds underperformed the S&P 500 index
in 2012 and have continued the trend in 2013.

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